Many of the management practices to which livestock and ruminant animals are subjected can be potent physiological and psychological stressors that impact on the performance of the animal. Common on-farm husbandry practices including tail docking, marking, mulesing, castration and dehorning are of particular concern, as are a number of other management practices including weaning, transport, feedlot integration and other integration practices leading to mixing of unfamiliar animals, release of animals into an unfamiliar environment or into confined conditions, or presentation with unfamiliar feeds.
One manifestation of these stressors is inanition, otherwise known as exhaustion resulting from lack of nourishment. In particular, ruminant animals, which are highly susceptible to development of stress-induced conditions such as anxiety, tend to reduce their nutrient intake (resulting in inappetance), and leading to inanition and reduced growth performance and productivity. This is particularly seen in transport of live animals, especially in live export, and in the introduction of animals into feedlots for finishing.
There have been a number of approaches to addressing the problem. Many of these have generally focused on treatment of animals that have been exposed to stressors, and with no particular focus on preparing an animal prior to implementation of a management practice so that, as prepared, the animal is then less susceptible to the stressors arising from, or associated with, the relevant practice.
There remains a need to minimise stress-induced inanition in livestock production (for example by minimising, or reducing the likelihood of, inappetance), and in particular in the management and marketing of ruminant animals.
There is a particular need to minimise stress-induced inanition in animals selected for husbandry procedures, including mulesing, tail docking, marking and castration, as well as dehorning in cattle and deer, and any act of veterinary science either separate to, or in conjunction with, husbandry procedures.
There is also a need to minimise stress-induced inanition in animals selected for transport, including transport for other than slaughter purposes, and including live export.
There is also a need to minimise stress-induced inanition in animals selected for feedlot integration.
Reference to any prior art in the specification is not an acknowledgment or suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in any jurisdiction or that this prior art could reasonably be expected to be understood, regarded as relevant, and/or combined with other pieces of prior art by a skilled person in the art.